Opposition threatens to disrupt Lower House over reports

Mumbai: The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Ajit Pawar on Thursday threatened to disrupt proceedings of the Lower House if the report on Maratha reservation by Maharashtra State Backward Class Commission (SSBC) and Tata Institute of Social Sciences’ report on the Dhangar community were not tabled in the state Assembly. The Opposition will not allow the Lower House to function if the reports are not tabled in the state Assembly, said Mr Pawar.

The Opposition leaders raised the slogan ‘Charcha nako, avahal dya’ (we don’t want discussion, table the report). Amid the chaos and sloganeering, Speaker Haribhau Bagade adjourned the House till Monday. Earlier in the day, the House had been adjourned twice for ten minutes.

Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis informed the House that the government has accepted the suggestions of backward classes commiss-ion only after the consultation of the legal experts who had said that if the entire report is accepted, it would create legal hurdle in the future. Mr Fadnavis was replying to queries over stand of the government on the Maratha reservation in the Bombay high court.

The NCP legislator Chhagan Bhujbal demanded that the existing quota limit should be extended beyond 50 per cent. The limit is put up by the Supreme Court not by the Constitution and Parliament can make laws to this effect, he said.

Mr Fadnavis said that the government had clarified that the reservation to Maratha community will be provided without touching the existing 52 per cent quota. Citing an instance of the court, he said that in case of an extraordinary situation the quota limit could be extended. But the recommendation for the same has to be done by the state backward class commission. Tamil Nadu and Karnataka have done the same and the matter is sub judice in the court. Even the current decision may also be challenged, hence the government is taking all measures to make the case watertight.

Leader of the Opp  sition in the Assembly, Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil pointed out that the government has been keeping mum over the Muslim reservation.